Those Kermit-centric Adidas were given to me by a friend as a Christmas present back in 2011. Since then, I’ve worn them pretty much every day. They were my meeting shoes of choice (they always sparked a conversation), and have touched the ground of eight different countries (nine, I guess, if you include the U.S.).

To be read: Over the last two-plus years, these shoes have been extremely loved.

Sadly, that love was starting to show, and a couple of holes in the soles recently sealed their fate.

So farewell, old friend! I loved slipping my feet into you.

Man, that sounds so dirty.

But wait! Is that a new pair of sweet Adidas I see approaching on the horizon?

Last February, after the Berlinale, KB and I took a side trip to Budapest with our good friend Emily. While there, we visited the House of Hungarian Wines, where this happened.

On this year’s post-Berlinale adventure, KB, Emily, and I were joined by our good friend Rebecca. The four of us decided to drive to Brussels for a quick three-night/four-day Belgian trip.

We hit up a ton of bars during our short stay, but there was one bar in particular that we really wanted to get into. We dubbed it “The Cool Kids Bar,” not because that’s what it was called, but because every time we’d try and go it would be packed with people who would just stare out the windows at us, as if to say, “Not for you, Americans. You are neither cool nor kids.”

But on our last night there we tried one last time… and found an open table!

We went in and toasted our first beers of the evening to the Cool Kids Bar.

By the second round, Emily was already getting bored with the conversation.

By the third beer, KB was falling asleep at the table. I know, big shock.

By beer number four, KB was down for the count, which encouraged some bribery and pranks between Emily and Rebecca.